


Trials

by radiantgem



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M, Gen, and I wholeheartedly believe Aqua is the quiet one you Watch out for, ven is fused with vanitas here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-10 20:01:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10446264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiantgem/pseuds/radiantgem
Summary: Roxas wants to ask Naminé out. He has to face the Wayfinder trio before he can even get to her first.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SalveSiS](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalveSiS/gifts).



When Roxas approached the immense castle of the Land of Departure, although he was in awe of its beauty, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit intimidated. He hoped he’d find Namine quickly so he wouldn’t have to deal with what Lea warned him about.

He considered knocking the door but wondered if anyone would even hear him in the beast of a castle. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself and moved his hand to knock on the door, only for it to be opened.

“Roxas!” Ventus beamed, “Long time no see.”

Roxas smiled in return, “Hey Ven, can I come in?”

“Sure!” Ven stepped aside to let Roxas pass and closed the massive door behind him with ease. He walked beside him and led him through the hallway.

“So, how’s life in Twilight Town?”

“Hmm, normal. Peaceful. Not much heartless running around now.”

“Everything you’ve always wanted right?”

Roxas chuckled softly, “Well, as normal as my life can get anyway. It’s fine though, it’s better than before. How is it here?”

Ven hummed, “Pretty good. I’ve been able to sleep more now, and Terra and Aqua are starting to talk to each other more like before. Naminé started to socialize with us more too.”

Roxas smiled, “That’s good.”

As they passed through the throne room, Roxas looked up at the stain glass window nearby, taking in all the colors it radiated. In comparison to the humble apartment he lived in with Lea and Xion back in Twilight Town, the window itself was made for almost royalty. The realization only reinforced who he was dealing with, and he felt his stomach drop a bit. With how friendly and casual Ventus usually was around him, he often forgot how Ven was literally a living legend, and that’s not even counting his friends.

As if reading Roxas’ mind, Ventus looked at im with a sly grin, “So, what brings you here?”

_ Maybe I still have a chance to avoid what he warned me about.  _ Roxas could only hope he’d be lucky. “I wanted to see Naminé.”

Ven arched an eyebrow and his grin only grew more mischievous, “For what?”

Roxas felt his hands get clammy as his heart rate began to increase. They were only having a relatively harmless conversation and already he was starting to panic as if he was fighting a losing battle against a heartless. He could tell Ven already knew, so he might as well get over it. “I wanted to ask her out on a date.”

Silence.

“A date?” Ventus’ smile grew into something more feral.

“Y-yes.”  _ I’m gonna die. _

“Do you even know what a date is?” Ven teased.

Roxas felt his face grow warm, “Ha, ha, very funny.”

Ven chuckled, albeit a bit darkly before throwing his arm around Roxas’ shoulders. “I’m just kidding around, don’t sweat it! Besides, I even have some advice for you to follow.”

It was Roxas’ turn to arch an eyebrow, “You do?”

“Of course I do! That’s what friends are for right?” Despite the friendly words, there was an almost ominous undertone to it. Roxas considered leaving immediately, but with Ven’s arm around his shoulders, he kept him in place.  _ I’m trapped. _

“Right. . .”

“Great! Now, rule number one for asking Naminé on a date is to first ask for the parent’s permission.”

_ Oh great. . .  _ Roxas inwardly groaned. He  _ so  _ wanted to avoid this. Maybe he could.

“But Naminé technically doesn’t  _ have  _ any parents.”

Ven hummed in contemplation, “True, but as long as she’s under Terra and Aqua’s guardianship, they’re basically her parents.”

“Great. . .”  _ So much for that _ .

“Rule number two: you must get her sibling’s approval as well.”

“Sibling? But she doesn’t have-” Roxas paused as his brain started to put the pieces together, “wait, do you mean you?”

Ven was practically beaming with pride, “The one and only!”

_ Should have known. _ “Okay. . . And the third?”

Ventus’ arm suddenly moved from Roxas’ shoulders to around his neck. “Hopefully we don’t even have to worry about rule number three, because you would do everything in your power  _ not  _ to do it,” his grip tightened as if to prove his point, “right?”

Roxas nodded hastily, getting the message nice and clear, “Got it.”

Like switching a light switch, Ven let go of Roxas with his usual cheerful smile, “Great! Now let’s go find Aqua.”

Confused, Roxas tilted his head, “Aren’t I supposed to get your approval?”

Ventus walked ahead of him with a skip in his step without looking back, “You already have it.”

* * *

“Roxas wants to take Nami out on a date.”

If it was possible for the temperature to drop a good thirty degrees in the span of three seconds without as much as a magic word, then that’s exactly what happened. They found Aqua in the kitchen making lunch, and she was in the middle of cutting slices of salami to make sandwiches like the one next to her. As if it wasn’t bad enough, she held a huge knife in her hand, which didn’t help to calm Roxas’ nerves.

“Oh really?” There was an eeriness to her calmness.

“Yeahh, I’ll leave you two to it,” Ven said as he grabbed a sandwich, placing his hand on Roxas’ shoulder to whisper “Good luck,” before finally leaving the room.

Roxas gulped as he stared at Aqua’s form, noticing the tension in her shoulders. He fought alongside her before, and he’s seen the extent of her magical prowess. He could only thank Kingdom Hearts he was on her side, as he’s never been able to conjure such magic of that caliber. 

Aqua eventually turned around, and when she did, though her facial expression didn’t hold any mischievousness like Ven did, it was worse in a sense that he couldn’t tell what she was feeling. At the very least with Ven he could somewhat prepare himself, he didn’t know what to expect with Aqua’s poker face. 

“So,” Aqua began as she crossed her arms, “where did this come from?”

“Er, where did what come from?”

“You wanting to take her out on a date,” although her voice was as calm as it always was, there was neither any warmth or coldness behind it. 

“Oh, well I. . .” Roxas thought about what he wanted to say very carefully. “I knew just having ice cream wouldn’t be enough.”

Aqua’s eyebrows furrowed as she tried to make sense of what he meant, “And why not?”

“Because that’s what friends do,” He said matter of factly. “Not to say she isn’t my friend. She is. It’s just, it feels different with her.”

Aqua continued to stare right through him, as if waiting for him to say what she already knew.

He panicked a little and decided to continue, “One time when I was in the Organization, there was a mission I took where someone brought up the emotion love. Axel told me it was very powerful, and that it’s something that happens when something really special between two people,” Roxas felt his cheeks redden, “At the time, I didn’t really get it, since it was different than the way best friends care for another, but it wasn’t a step above it either.”

“Is Axel the one who told you about friends eating ice cream together?” Aqua asked.

Roxas nodded, “Yeah, he was. Which is why I want to take her out on a date, I feel a different type of love for her, and I want to see how it grows,” His face was on fire, but he kept going, “You know, if she feels like that too.”

Aqua stayed silent. Afraid that he said something wrong, he snuck a peek at her, and was relieved that she was no longer as tense or impassive. If anything, she looked a tad bit relieved from the smile she wore on her face. “I see.” She uncrossed her arms, turned around and continued to cut the salami, “Do you have any idea as to where you want to take her?”

“Uh, Sunset Terrace. There’s a spot at the highest point of the hill that’s apparently a romantic place to go. So I figured we could go there. And you know. Talk.” He scratched his cheek, embarrassed, “I didn’t really think ahead that far yet.”

Aqua shook her head lightly, but he could tell from the lightheartedness of it that she was probably amused.

Unsure of what to do, Roxas shuffled his feet. “So, does that mean I get your permission to ask her?”

Aqua chuckled softly at the question, turned her head towards him and smiled warmly, “Yes, you do. Now I just need you to do me one favor, when you see Terra and Naminé, make sure to tell them to come for lunch.”

Roxas gave a small but excited smile in return, “Sure, just where are they?”

“If you find Terra, he’s probably in the summit, you’ll find Naminé. Those two are always doing art projects together.”

* * *

When he did find Terra, he was alone in the Mountain Path, leaning against a tree. Lea told him not to worry about the big guy, but he still felt a little wary around him. Whenever he looked at his face, all he could see was Xemnas’, even though he knew they’re just as different as him and Ven are.

As he walked closer to him, he could see he had a chunk of wood in one hand and a small carving knife in the other. _ Another knife. Great.  _ Probably from listening to the sound of his incoming footsteps, Terra glanced up at him, “Roxas? What’re you doing here? Looking for someone?”

“Uh, yeah. Do you know where Naminé  is?”

Terra motioned his head towards the uphill path, “She’s up at the summit.”

_ Wait, that’s it?  _ “You’re just going to tell me where she is like that?” He didn’t expect it to be  _ that  _ easy.

Terra gave him a strange look, “You’re the one who asked.”

“Yeah I know but. . .”  _ Maybe it’s because he doesn’t know why I want to see her. _

A light bulb seemed to turn on in Terra’s head and he started to laugh, “Let me guess, Aqua and Ven gave you a hard time huh?”

“How did you know?”

Terra went back to carving the chunk of wood he held with an amused smile, “Ven came over and told me you wanted to take her out.”

“Ventus?”  _ I don’t remember seeing him come back to the castle. Maybe he’s up there with Namine.  _ He hoped that wasn’t the case, it’d only make everything much harder than it already was. “Of course. . . And you’re okay with it?”

“Should I not be okay with it?”

Roxas put a head to his forehead and shook his head, exasperated, “I don’t know. Didn’t seem like the others were.”

“Nah, they were just trying to scare you.”

“But why? I didn’t even do anything.”

“They just protective over Naminé , that’s all. They know you’re a good guy.”

“Then what about you?”

“Well, it’s not like I’m not protective over her either. It’s just you haven’t done anything that’d make me not want you to date her,” Terra looked up and smiled at him, “I trust you with her.”

Roxas just stared at him, not sure of how to take any of this. For someone who has the same face as his former leader to give him such positive regard in such a nonchalant way was foreign to him. He smiled, and muttered a shy “Thanks,” in return.

Terra nodded, and got up from his spot, wiping the wood shavings off his pants. “I’ll walk you to her.” He held what looked like a wooden crumpled up ball of paper, and placed it on the stone table nearby. Noticing Roxas’ gaze, Terra explained, “It doesn’t look like much now. It’s going to be a flower, once I’m done with it anyway.”

Remembering Aqua’s words, Roxas inquired, “Aqua told me that you and Naminé  do art projects together. Is this one of them?”

“Er, kind of. Namine is helping me make a present.”

“For Aqua?” 

Terra eyes widened a bit, surprised at his guess, “You catch on pretty quick huh?”

Roxas shrugged coolly, albeit with a smug grin on his face.

They began to walk up the path towards the summit, Terra walking a little ahead of Roxas, as if guiding him there. Looking at him, he could see a huge difference in the way Terra and Xemnas carried themselves. Xemnas was more detached, always behind the scenes, secretive, and if he needed something done, he’d send somebody else to deliver the message for him. Whenever they did speak, it would be in the throne room, where it was very clear Roxas was lower than him just looking how the thrones were arranged. Meanwhile with Terra, he was present, offering guidance to where he needed to go, honest in a mellow way, and was more of a mentor than a boss of any sort. He could see why Ven held him in such high regard.

* * *

 

When they reached the summit, Namine was on the ground sketching out the castle. Terra looked over at Roxas and placed a hand on his shoulder with an encouraging smile, “You got this.”

Roxas gave an uneasy smile, nodded and walked over to Naminé .

Not wanting to disturb her concentration, he waited until she noticed his presence. He looked at the drawing of the castle, and noticed the shapes were more distinguishable, and the colors melded together more to create new ones. 

After a minute or two of just standing there, he figured she was in the zone to not have noticed him by now. He smiled at the notion, and poked her lightly on the shoulder, “Namine.”

Naminé  flinched, dropping her crayon and sketchbook in the process, “Oh! Roxas!” She quickly got up and dusted herself off, “What a nice surprise. What’re you doing here?”

Roxas put his hands into fists, feeling them get sweaty again, “I wanted to see you.

Namin é’s  ch eeks started to turn pink, and felt a warmth radiate inside of him at the sight of it.  _ That’s cute. _ “Y-you did?”

Roxas nodded, “I wanted to know if you’d like to go on a date with me.”

Namin é  ’s face was completely red at this point, and her voice squeaked, “A date? W-with me? Are you sure?”

Roxas tiled his head, “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“I-it’s just, people usually go on dates when they really like each other romantically.”

Roxas felt his ears go warm, “Yeah, I do, at least.”

He sway Namin é sway a bit, and on instinct he reached out and held her hands to keep her steady, “Whoa! Are you okay?”

Namin é  gave a grateful smile as she lowered herself to the ground and slightly squeezed his hands, “Yeah, I’m just a little overwhelmed. This is just all so new, you know?”

Roxas followed her lead, and crouched in front of her, “I know the feeling.” His voice took a gentle tone, “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, it’s all your choice if you do go or not.”

Naminé shook her head fervently and looked at him in the eye, “No, I want to go.”

Roxas’ eyes widened, “So you-”

Namin é  could only nod earnestly, an eager smile blooming across her face, “Yes Roxas.”

Roxas mirrored her smile and let out a relieved sigh, “G-great. I’ll pick you up at the end of this week around noon.”

Naminé’s eyes were full of mirth, her face radiant with delight, “I can’t wait.”


End file.
